Ezekiel 31 – In the spring of 587,
Ezekiel is addressed by God to say to Pharaoh that Egypt can be compared to a
cedar of Lebanon “with noble branches, thick-set needles and lofty trunk. Its
top pierces the clouds. The waters have made it grow, the deep has made it
tall, pouring its rivers round the place where it is planted, sending its
streams to all the other trees” (31:3-4).
“[I]n
its shade every kind of people sat . . . It was the envy of every tree in Eden,
in the garden of God” (31:9).
But
the greatness of the land has tempted them to arrogance, and now the “prince of
the nations” (31:11), Nebuchadnezzar, will bring it down. We should learn from
what has happened to Egypt. “In future let no tree rise in pride beside the
waters, none push its top through the clouds, no well-watered tree stretch its
whole height towards them” (31:14).
Revelation 1 – “This is the revelation given by God to Jesus
Christ so that he could tell his servants about the things which are now to take
place very soon; he sent his angel to make it known to his servant John,
and John has written down everything he saw and swears it is the word of God
guaranteed by Jesus Christ. Happy the man who reads this prophecy, and happy
those who listen to him, if they treasure all that it says, because the Time is
close” (1:1-3).
John writes to
the seven churches of Asia [Asia Minor] from the seven spirits who reside
before his throne. Christ is the “faithful witness, the first-born from the
dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth” (1:5). “He loves us and has washed
away our sins with his blood, and made us a line
of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and
power for ever and ever” (1:5-6).
“’I am the
Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the
Almighty” (1:8).
John says his
is on the island called Patmos “on account of the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus” (1:9). His vision is this: “I saw seven golden lamp-stands and
surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at
the waist with a gold girdle. His head and his hair were white as white wool or
as snow, this eyes like a burning flame, his feet like burnished bronze when it
has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean” (1:12-15).
He holds “seven stars in his hand and out of his mouth came a sharp sword,
double-edged, and his face was like the sun shining with all its force” (1:15-16).
The seven lamp-stands are the seven churches.
The
Jerusalem Bible note on pg. 431 is
good – it explains the symbolism of the vision John has. The long robe is
symbolic of his priesthood, the golden girdle – his royalty, his white hair –
his eternity, his burning eyes – his ability to probe minds and hearts, his
feet of bronze – his permanence, the brightness of his legs and face and the
strength of his void – the fear inspired by his majesty, the stars – the seven
churches and the double-edge sword – His judgment. “One or other of his
attributes as Judge is used at the beginning of each of the seven letters, to
suggest the situation of the particular church addressed” (431).
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